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My first ever post on Forbes was my account of living in Israel today, when missiles are often being fired from Gaza to the south and center of the country (since the whole thing is the size of NJ, the "south" and the "center" are actually quite close). I tried to make it as personal as possible, telling the readers about my grandfather and about my thoughts as I hide away in the stairs pit.

As expected, most of the comments moved the subject to the other side: what is life in Gaza like these days? I'm sure it's no child's play. They do not have an Iron Dome or sirens, and our attacks are somewhat surprising to them.

I wouldn't trade places with anyone in Gaza, but that has nothing to do with Israeli attacks.

What do you know about life in Gaza? Did you know that Hamas, the terrorist group, took over Gaza during 2 days in June 2007? Did you know that there are no movie theaters in Gaza anymore, as they were burned down by extreme Islamists? Did you know there are little to no rights for women or homosexuals? Did you know that in the last few days, Hammas has publicly killed and mutilated the bodies of those who were suspected to be "Israeli spies"? Gaza, evicted by Israel in 2005, is no longer run by any western standards.

I do not wish to "play the innocent one", as we say in Hebrew. I too have read Edward Said and I truly believe that both sides have done wrong by each other. My point is different: as not all Israelis are extreme right-winged settlers, which would like the Jewish state to "run both sides of the Jordan River", I believe the people of Gaza are not the Hamas (who wants to claim the whole land itself). I believe that somewhere in the Gaza strip there are people like me, who are fed up with the constant fighting, that know in their hearts that this is no way to live.

Last summer, some of my best friends lived in tents (no easy task in this middle eastern climate) in order to protest against the rising cost of living and the way things are run over here. This was never said out loud, but part of the reason Tel Aviv is getting more expensive than London is the fact that we are at a constant state of war against bodies like Hafor mas, who officially refuse to acknowledge our right to exist here. The people of Israel are literally paying a price for that – not to mention the time they spend in the army when most people start their adult life. Honestly, we are quite fed up.

So, are there people on the other side who are also fed up? Are there people that want to watch movies, go to parties, have kids and raise them in peace, the same way kids are raised all over the world? Why do we have to pay such a high price – metaphorically and literally – just because of our bad history together? Israel does not usually go on the offence when unprovoked. I refuse to believe that the majority of Gaza mothers would really want their kids to grow up and become suicide bombers. When would the sane people of this area get up, and say out loud that we've had enough? How many more dead civilians need to be buried at both sides of the border? When would the people of Gaza get out to the streets?